Halloween 2008

The rain stopped just in time for us to have an amazing Halloween evening. Andrew was completely into trick or treating this year. Neither was willing to go up and see the famous witch who has haunted 18th avenue here in Seattle for 35 years. Perhaps next year!

Enjoy!

Andrew does the Macarena!

Last Friday the whole family attended Steven's Fall Social. Sandi was on the planning committee and spent literally countless hours in advance to make sure the event was a huge success. It was absolutely amazing. We danced the Electric Slide! We danced the Limbo! We played musical chairs. The parents and students were equally involved. The highlight for me came when Andrews class led the entire group in an extended edition of the Macarena! Thankfully a friend of ours who has a student in Andrew's class put recorded the event for posterity. Enjoy!

We love autumn

Andrew is on the right hand side behind the girls in pink and green! Happy Autumn to you all.



Christopher

Oregon Coast 2008

Hannah, Andrew and Sandi joined their Grandparents for a wonderful week on the Oregon Coast. The trip included catching Andrew's first fish! It also included a wonderful train ride that both kids loved. Dad was incredibly jealous that he did not get to go on this one.

Hannah's First Horse Show

On Saturday July 12th, Hannah Payne participated in her very first horse show! She did an amazing job. She participated in four events and received three fourth place ribbons. She rode Mel the 30 year old wonder horse. Hannah demonstrated amazing coolness when asked to canter around the entire arena...something she had never done before even in practice. You will see the video below of this very first canter around the ring. We have a feeling that this may not be the last horse show we attend or the last ribbon attained. Our daughter simply loves ridding and considers it one of her true passions!


Untitled from Christopher Payne on Vimeo.


Untitled from Christopher Payne on Vimeo.

Aloha 2008

We spent spring break 2008 on Maui and had an amazing time. This is the first time I went to the top of the mountain. I could not believe I was on earth let alone Hawaii. If you have not had the opportunity to do this I strongly recommend it. It is well worth the time.

We were joined by my brother Lee and his wife and children (Bernice, Jeffrey and Jessica). It was so great to spend time with them. We hope to do it again next year.

Aloha,
Christopher

Tooth Fairy

The tooth fairy has been working over time at the Paynes. Andrew has recently lost his two bottom teeth. Apparently inflation has driven the tooth fairy to leave $2 instead of $1! The fed chairman better take notice....inflation is out of control

Hannah delivers her first presentation to the class

Hannah portrays Dr. Mae Jemison in her report to her class. She did an amazing job. I was so proud of how poised she was. Note the props in the background...mommy spent quite a bit of time on this as well.


Dr. Mae C. Jemison from Christopher Payne on Vimeo.

Feb 2008

Sorry that I have not posted in a while family. Here are some recent shots of the kids having a blast over the last few months. The beach shots are actually in Seattle this month. The weather was awesome for nearly two weeks. It was cool but clear. Enjoy.

Hannah's 3rd grade photo

My girl is growing up too fast!

Dreaming of a white Christmas

What a great start to the holiday season. December 1st brought a 1 day snowfall to the Seattle area. The snow was perfect for making snow balls and snow men. Alas, it was all gone by the next day. We hope to see more snow before the big day!

Andrew Pre School Photo!

It is amazing to me how time flies. Here is our little man looking very mature and happy. Andrew loves school and is learning a ton in his first few months!

Halloween 2007

We had great weather for this year's Halloween. This is something that occurs only once every five years or so. We enjoyed it greatly. This was the first year that Andrew was able to keep up and boy did he. We trick or treated for 1 and 1/2 hours. We were not, however, brave enough to go up to the witch on 18th. This was bit of a slide for us as Hannah had done it the year before. The witch has been cackling on 18th apparently for 30 years. I have no idea how she has any voice left after it.

Horseback Riding at Aunt Marlines!

Einstein

I just completed reading "Einstein" by Walter Isaacson and I loved it. What an amazing life. Several things struck my about Einstein as a person. First, he was an incredibly humble man. I think humility is a trait that helped make him great. No matter how great his achievements he was always in awe of the way the world had been made. I was also amazed by his degree of not conforming to society. The man was a rebel and spoke his mind at every turn. I particularly enjoyed learning about his time in the US where he took full advantage of freedom of speech. He had courage. He was also amazingly curious. He seems to have been able to ask the most basic questions about why something works the way it does or what would happen if and it took him to amazing places. His views on everything I found fascinating. If, like me, you knew little more that e=mc2 of Einstein I would highly recommend this easy read. His views on world society and government, the impact of nuclear proliferation, the goal of education, etc. are all super timely and relevant to today's debates.

Fun at the Falls

A few weeks ago Sandi and the kids went to Snoqualmie Falls and hiked down the hill side. It was a great day.

The snake charmer

Andrew attended his first ever summer camp a few weeks ago. He learned all about reptiles and dinosaurs! As you can see he enjoyed it immensely.

35th Street Bistro

Sandi and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary back in June in San Francisco. We ate a fabulous restaurant and had a waiter who had just moved down from Seattle. She recommended that we go to her former restaurant in Fremont called 35th Street Bistro. On Sunday of this week Sandi and I decided to give it a try. It was amazing. We had scallops in a truffle sauce with fresh corn and peas for a starter. We then split the steak frite. The fries were awesome. We then shared a truly amazing cheese plate for dessert. We tasted six different cheeses from all over the world. Our favorite was a California goat cheese called Humbolt Fog. The service and atmosphere were also tops. Sandi and I rarely go up to Fremont given all the restaurant choices we have here in the city but we both agreed we will return soon to 35th street.

Lake 2207

After Hannah got out of school we headed down to Lake Wildwood. We celebrated my brothers 50th bday. Happy birthday Lee! And we had an amazing time.

Home on the range

Last month we spent a delightful morning with Aunt Marline on her ranch. Hannah loves horses and this was her first riding experience. Andrew gave it a go as well. Thank you Aunt Marline and Cricket!